Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Focus Entertainment
Embody the superhuman skill and brutality of a Space Marine. Unleash deadly abilities and devastating weaponry to obliterate the relentless Tyranid swarms. Defend the Imperium in spectacular third-person action in solo or multiplayer modes.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is the long-awaited cinematic action game we’ve all been waiting for. Set after the events of the first game and like the original, Space Marine 2 is a third-person game that blends shooter with hack-and-slash and its an epic blood soaked mess that you’ll enjoy. Before you jump into Space Marine 2 here is some of the basics and the backstory to our hero Titus!
Demetrian Titus made his hero debut in 2011 and is a devoted servant of the Emperor of Mankind, a fearsome warrior, and remarkably resistant to the corrupting influence of Chaos. In Space Marine 1, you play Captain Titus as he commands the Ultramarine Chapter’s second company. You are tasked to halt an incursion of Orks and protect a processing center thats helping leading the wars efforts.
While battling the Orks, Captain Titus encounters Inquisitor Drogan, a high-ranking member of the Imperium and he tasks you to rescue an experimental energy source from a mysterious research facility. This device uses the corrupting power of the Warp, and is far too dangerous to allow to fall into the Orks’ hands.
Although you’re successful in retrieving the device and slaying Warboss Grimskull, Inquisitor Drogan is a pawn of the Chaos Sorcerer Nemeroth. The device opens a portal into Warp, allowing Nemeroth, his traitorous Chaos Space Marines, and hordes of Chaos Daemons, to break out into reality.
A disgraced Titus is sent to exile, serving penance on dangerous missions within the Deathwatch Chapter, similar to The Night’s Watch in Game of Thrones. After many decades of injures to prove his loyalty on suicidal missions for the Deathwatch and receiving Rubicon Primaris surgery to elevate him to the status of a Primaris Space Marine, he is finally reinstated back into the Ultramarines, though he now only holds the rank of Lieutenant and not everyone is pleased to see him return.
Pros
Detailed story
Complex combat
No Microtractions
Great Single-player mode
Various PVP and PVE modes
Room for more Imperium Factions (Sisters of Battle)
Cons
Warhammer lore is insane
Lack of external menu to access the multiplayer modes
EPIC Online sign in required (why?!)
Grindy and repetitive PVE progression
Weapon balancing issues
Space Marine 2 can be played alone but it’s best played in 3-player co-op. Captain Titus is accompanied with Chairon and Gadriel throughout the campaign for both single player and in co-op online multiplayer. There’s also a separate PvE co-op mode called Operations and three online PvP modes outside of the main campaign.
Similar to the first game, players should use ranged combat to defeat weaker enemies from a distance to prevent them becoming an issue. Stronger enemies can block projectile damage and require hack and slash combat to bring them down. While the basic mechanics are very similar to the original game, there’s a few fundamental changes you’ll need to learn with attacking, blocking and parrying. Later in the game, there’s even enemies that will stagger their attacks to bait your parry.
After 30 hours we can easily say you’ll have a blast and nerd out to all the Warhammer 40,000 in-depth lore moments. We’ve mainly focused on the PVE Operations mode with friends and thats been a joy to play. The campaign mode is about 15 hours long and you can tell the devs have put so much passion in by making it co-op so you can experience it with friends.
I’ve been a massive Warhammer 40,000 fan since I was a kid, spending pocket money on painting Ultramarines so playing a cinematic adventure is an incredible feeling and the best part – no microtransactions. You can even get some unique skins from Twitch drops too. I highly recommend you check out Kinguin if you’re struggling with the £55 / $70 price tag but either way the game is worth the cost!
Overall Rating
